Matsuri
is a Genin from Sunagakure and a close friend of Sari. She adores the Kazekage, and can't see any man but him. Personality In the beginning of her introduction, Matsuri starts off being a shy and very soft-spoken girl, but now she has become braver and more outspoken under Gaara's tutelage (and probably because of Temari’s influence as well). After the time-skip, she has fewer inhibitions about using weapons, but likely still prefers to use non-lethal ones because she doesn't like to hurt people. Matsuri is very caring and will go to great lengths to help her friends and comrades, such as putting herself in very dangerous situations. Even with her personality changes, she is still polite, and addresses most people with the “-san” suffix. She shows a great respect to Gaara, for whom she uses “-sama”. She works hard to be a more-than-adequate ninja, because Suna has a reputation for having high-quality shinobi, in spite of their small numbers. And of course, there are also high expectations that come with being Gaara’s student, seeing as he is the strongest ninja in the Sand Village, and she feels like it’s necessary to help Gaara uphold his reputation. She wouldn’t hesitate to stand up for him, such as smacking anyone who utters a single negative phrase. Matsuri treats Gaara with a great deal of respect, and it’s quite apparent that she has romantic feelings for him. All that being said, Matsuri has her faults: she is a little clumsy, seems to be quite naive on a number of subjects, and lacks some self-confidence. Normally, she would think before leaping into any situation, but if it’s an issue that concerns Gaara, she will likely go in on instinct alone to help him, maybe even disobeying orders from higher authority. Nevertheless, she means well, and always tries to improve herself. Part I Ultimate Weapon arc Matsuri debuted in the final arc of the anime. She was a student of Sunagakure's new Ninja Academy. At the beginning of the weapon-handling lesson, Matsuri asked if weapons are just dangerous. While the class and the teachers pondered the question, Gaara replied suddenly with, "A weapon ..." and made Matsuri think that Gaara was trying to tell her something. Therefore she was the only person out of the entire class brave enough to choose Gaara to be her teacher. Gaara, sensing her hesitation and inhibitions, taught her how to use a jōhyō, but she was fearful of it and other weapons because she had witnessed her parents' murders in the past. Gaara tried to tell her that weapons can be used to protect comrades, but Matsuri didn't understand him at first. Later, the Four Celestial Symbols Men kidnapped Matsuri, because of her importance to Gaara, trying to lure him out, capture him, and steal the Shukaku's chakra stored within him. Gaara, his siblings, and the Konoha 11 (excluding Tenten) came to her aid, and fought her captors. After being freed, she saved Naruto from a fatal attack from Seimei using her jōhyō, after finally realizing that weapons can be used to protect comrades. After Seimei's defeat, she returned to Sunagakure with Gaara, Kankurō, and Temari. But before she left, she asked Shikamaru to tell Naruto that he had made her understand what Gaara had been trying to tell her, and that she would continue to train as Gaara's student. Part II Rescue Gaara arc Three years later, Matsuri is still training under Gaara. Matsuri made her first post-timeskip appearance in the Naruto Shippūden as part of the Suna ninja team Temari had assembled to aid in rescuing Gaara. Temari's team had been first sent out to patrol a border crossing. Matsuri seems to have undergone a personality change since her becoming Gaara's student; she is no longer the shy girl afraid of weapons, and has become somewhat outspoken. She complained to Temari about how they should be trying to rescue Gaara, rather than defending the border against countries that might have sought to take advantage of the Kazekage's absence. She becomes one of many of Gaara's admirers dedicated to protecting him, but she shares a longer history with Gaara than his other shallow fangirls. When Gaara woke up, she was complimenting him to which Gaara blushes before asking if he were alright after being resurrected. Five Kage Summit arc Matsuri was seen in the crowd, next to elder Ebizo and Baki telling Gaara to be careful as he left for the Kage Summit. Trivia * Matsuri's name can mean or . * In the manga, Matsuri's first appearance was after Gaara was revived. * Matsuri made an appearance in the Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja 4 game as the Sand Chūnin walking around the Save point outside of the Sand Village, although her shirt was red. * Matsuri wears her ninja headband like Temari and Hinata did in Part I. * Matsuri's affection for the Kazekage and generally her character resemblances a lot Part I Sakura Haruno and Karin. ** Each one is likely to hit somebody when angry, or when they don’t share his point of view. Sakura would beat up Naruto Uzumaki, Karin would hit Suigetsu Hōzuki and Matsuri slugged Ittetsu when he said that he wondered if Gaara would really die. ** The three of them like a guy in a fan-girl like manner. Sakura loves Sasuke and Karin is obsessed with him, too, while Matsuri is in love with Gaara. ** All of them lash out at one of their teammates (Naruto, Suigetsu and Ittetsu, respectively). References